When people think about workplace injuries, they usually picture a mine, a construction site, a steel plant, or a large industrial facility. In the public mind, it is still largely seen as a male issue tied to heavy machinery, dangerous equipment, and industrial accidents. But the numbers tell a much more complex story. Behind the traditional image of workplace risk, another reality is becoming increasingly visible. Workplace injuries are increasingly taking on a female face. For women workers, the main sources of risk are no longer associated only with industry, but are becoming more visible in the social and service economy.
In 2025, Kazakhstan recorded 2,328 people injured in workplace accidents and occupational diseases. Of those, 463 were women. In other words, almost one in every five injured workers in the country was female. At first glance, that may not seem like a large number. Especially when compared to fatal cases, where women accounted for only 9 out of 184 workplace deaths, or about 4.9%. Recent dynamics confirm this structural shift: the share of women among workers injured while performing their professional duties rose fromabout 18% in 2022-2023 to almost 20% in 2024-2025. Butthis is exactly where one of the most important changes in today’s labor market becomes visible. The lower share of women among fatal cases does not mean women’s work has become safer. It simply means the risks are different. Men and women are increasingly exposed to different types of workplace hazards because they work in different parts of the economy.
Men still dominate sectors such as construction, mining, metallurgy, transportation, and heavy industry. In these fields, workplace accidents are more likely to result in severe injuries or death. That is why fatal workplace incidents remain concentrated in traditionally male occupations. But this does not mean women work in safe environments. The nature of the risk is simply different.
A closer look at workplace injuries among women shows how much the economy has changed. In 2025, the largest number of injured women worked in healthcare and social services, where 120 women were injured out of 189 affected workers. Manufacturing ranked second, with 102 women among 796 injured employees. Trade and vehicle repair followed with 41 injured women, transportation and warehousing with 38, and education with 35.
The percentages inside each sector tell an even more interesting story. Women accounted for 71.4% of all injured employees in accommodation and food services. In education, the figure reached 67.3%. In healthcare and social services, it was 63.5%. In other service activities, women represented 50% of injured workers. In trade, the share stood at 33.1%.
These figures highlight a major shift. Workplace injury discussions have traditionally focused on industrial safety, machinery, and production processes. Today, a growing share of workplace risk is found in occupations that many people still consider relatively safe.
One of the biggest paradoxes of the modern economy is that the source of danger is increasingly not machinery, but people. A doctor may face an aggressive patient. A nurse may encounter a hostile visitor. A teacher works under constant emotional pressure. Retail employees interact with dozens, sometimes hundreds, of customers every day. Workers in service industries operate in environments shaped by conflict, stress, and continuous psychological strain. These risks are rarely viewed through the lens of workplace injuries, yet they are becoming an increasingly important part of working life.
Healthcare offers perhaps the clearest example. In recent years, the safety of medical workers has moved beyond being an internal issue for hospitals and clinics. A number of high-profile attacks on healthcare professionals pushed the issue into the public spotlight. In July 2025, a nurse at a private medical center in Karaganda was assaulted after a visitor reportedly forced his way through a door and attacked her at work. Around the same time, a surgeon was assaulted at a regional hospital in Kostanay.
These incidents reignited public discussion about violence against healthcare workers. As a result, new measures were introduced to strengthen protections for medical staff. Since March 2026, legislation has been in force establishing separate criminal liability for threats or violence against healthcare workers and ambulance drivers.
Of course, these risks are not limited to women. Male healthcare professionals have also been victims of violence. But the structure of employment in social services means that women make up a large share of the workforce. As a result, risks that formally affect everyone often have a greater impact on women in practice. This reflects a broader shift in the labor market. As the economy changes, the nature of workplace risk changes with it.
In construction, the main dangers remain heights, machinery, vehicles, and heavy structures. In healthcare, education, trade, and service industries, the biggest challenges are often emotional exhaustion, demanding work schedules, workplace organization, conflicts with customers and patients, and concerns about personal safety. In reality, two different models of workplace risk now exist within the same economy. In one, workers are injured because of faulty equipment or safety failures. In the other, risk emerges through constant interaction with people and sustained psychological pressure.
As service industries continue to grow, these risks will become even more important. Workplace injuries can no longer be viewed only as an industrial issue. Today, they increasingly involve hospitals, schools, shops, social institutions, and other workplaces where safety depends not only on equipment and procedures but also on human behavior and relationships.
The statistics from 2025 show that nearly one out of every five workplace injuries in Kazakhstan involved a woman. But the most important conclusion is not the number itself. Modern workplace risk is increasingly found not beside a machine, a mine, or a construction crane. It is found wherever people spend their working day dealing with other people. And as the economy continues to shift toward services, the female face of workplace injuries will become more visible than ever.
Alena Romanova, National Bureau of Economic Research, exclusively for www.economyKZ.org
